After a brief hiatus, WAGME returns! 🚀

WAGME #20 is live!

Discover the latest on Proof Of Play's massive $33m raise, Ronin's innovative Naming System, Krafton's venture into Web3 with Overdare, the collaboration of Aavegotchi & Sandbox, and a sneak peek into Playmint's Downstream

Thank you for staying with us. Drop a gg and show some love! ❤️💞

🔔 Weekly Gaming Digest 👀

In The Loop w/ Kapital_K (Week 3️⃣9️⃣ of 2023)

Here are the top five headlines and fundraising announcements plus a collection of content from independent creators that you missed this week!

———

TOP 5 HEADLINES 📣

📌 Nintendo Says No DLC For Zelda: ToTK

📌 71% of Top Mobile Games Use Unity SDK

📌 Meta Owns Top Four Ad Networks

📌 Meta Quest 3 Will Have A Lot Of Games

📌 Another Alternative App Store For India

———

thecoreloop FEATURED PICKS 💖:

🤕 Threads
• Pet3rpan_ thread on 1kx's Consumer Portfolio — link

🗣 Blogs
• Mobile Dev Memo // Jenga Tower Principle For Performance Marketing — link

➡Pods
• The AIAS Game Maker's Notebook // Conversation w/ Starfield creator Todd Howard — link


💲 Raises
• $175.1M Raised. $155M came from 2 funds: Kyber Knight ($120M) and Creative UK ($35M). $8.5M went toward game studios: Luda ($7.5M) and Zakazane ($1.0M). $7.5M went to a social casino app. $1.5M went to wearable interface company Afference. $3.1M to Aug X Labs, an infra project using AI to democratize video production.

———

Check out our Substack for the full newsletter!

Look at Gaming #301 | Monday October 2nd 2023


GM! It's Monday.

Just a short one today as I'm still on a mini vacation to Busan for 츄석 (Korean Thanksgiving')!

I'd recommend checking out Brutally Honest's piece on running fake mobile game ads and studying the data.

Will be back tomorrow! Have a good Monday y'all.

———

⚡ Spotlight 🤩
Fake mobile game ads: annoying but effective? | Brutally Honest


🌊 MARKET 📞
Market Wire: Wild Rift hits $1B, China loves MOBAs! | Game Makers

A time of departures | GamesBeat

Mass games industry job losses in 2023, but is the end in sight? | PGBiz

The gaming and esports industry needs to start taking mobile esports more seriously | PGBiz


💎 Deep Dives 🔎
Gaming Forecast: Trends in Video Game Industry, Devices & Content Ownership | Kevuru Games

Best Selling Video Games of All Times | Kevuru Games

Haptic Technology | Konvoy Ventures


🧠 Knowledge Hub 📘
How Candivore’s Match Masters Innovates in Match 3 | Naavik

Fake mobile game ads: annoying but effective? | Brutally Honest


👾 Game & Stats Releases 📊
Township celebrates its 10th Anniversary - Playrix shares key figures $2.1B Revenue | GameDev Reports

———

Drop a gg!

Look at Gaming #302 | Tuesday October 3rd 2023


GM! It's Tuesday.

Back and at it! Hope everyone's is rested and ready. 💊

On October 5th, Samsung will launch its Game Launcher on Galaxy phones. This cloud gaming service isn't like the one that's on the Samsung TVs. The Game Launcher app on the TV is an aggregation of all the different cloud gaming service providers like Amazon Luna, Xbox Cloud, Amazon Luna, etc..

The Game Launcher on Galaxy phones will be entirely operated by Samsung. Another difference is that instead of offering PC/Console titles, Samsung is optimizing for mobile titles. Why?

If you've ran UA before then you know that even after a user clicks on your ad, there's a high chance they might not even make it to your game. The Game Launcher eliminates the need for an app store, therefore reducing friction of installing and registering.

The player is launched directly into the game.

Guess that's why it's called Game Launcher. 🤔

In other news, X is launching Twitch-like functions and Honkai: Star Rails is opening up restaurants IRL.

Catch you guys tomorrow!

———

⚡ Spotlight 🤩
Samsung will reportedly bring its game streaming service out of beta this week | The Verge


💎 Deep Dives 🔎
Most PC games gross <$1,000: should we be worried? | GameDiscoverCo

Why investors hate content risk and how to overcome it | Game Stuff

Tile Match: The new Match-3 or the new Merge? | Deconstructor of Fun


🌈 Platforms 🏠
Blizzard says it’s building ‘revitalized’ Overwatch esports after OWL season ends | The Verge

Elon Musk Livestreams Diablo IV on Twitter to Show Off Twitch-Like Feature | Decrypt.gg

Samsung will reportedly bring its game streaming service out of beta this week | The Verge


🧠 Knowledge Hub 📘
Brutally Honest #80 -- How to pick Ad Partners & Ad Libraries| Brutally Honest


👾 Game & Stats Releases 📊
Why 'Game Over' is the best part of the game | Axios

Honkai: Star Rail goes IRL: Collaborating with famous restaurant chains around the world | PGBiz

———

Drop a gg

Look at Gaming #303 | Wednesday October 4th 2023

GM! It's Wednesday.

E, T, M, A, and ESRB. You may not be familiar with these letters but I'm sure you can hear that voice that says, "Rated E for Everyone."

The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) is a nonprofit established in 1994 by the Entertainment Software Association to set a standard on gaming content in the US. This association comprises of all the big names such as EA, Epic Games, Konami, Krafton, and from Tencent to Take-Two. The ESRB is essentially a Self-Regulatory Organization (SRO). It has the power to create and enforce industry standards and professional regulations.

Why am I talking about these boring ratings?
Epic Games is introducing an Age and Content ratings system to Fortnite next month.

As Fortnite transforms from a game to an ecosystem, third-party creators are required to complete a questionnaire about their game's content and accessibility. The International Age Rating Coalition (IARC) — effectively the global counterpart of the ESRB — will lead this effort. The rating will be submitted and reviewed by Epic Games moderators then clearly display prior to accessing the Fortnite Islands.

This has huge implications. As more games opt for this UGC platformatization route, there will be hundreds of thousands if not millions of these UGC experiences. Roblox alone has like 40 million experiences.

I remember when I built Roblox games back in 2020, there were TONS of IP Infringements but Apple (or any platform for that matter) couldn't implement its policies since it was impossible to enforce. But with this "regulated" policy by a global and industry-wide organization, these UGC platforms will be placed under extra scrutiny.

And I couldn't have asked for a better segue as a new Barbie Dreamhouse experience is launched on Roblox today. Gamefam studio and Mattel will bring Barbie into the blocky world of Roblox. The game will officially kick off on October 6th. What rating should this game get?

———

⚡ Spotlight 🤩
Fortnite brings in-game age ratings to player-made content | GameDeveloper


🌊 MARKET 📞
Apple's App Store steps into line to comply with Chinese regulations | PGBiz

data.ai: State of the mobile market in Q3 2023 | GameDev Reports


💎 Deep Dives 🔎
Unity: Change or Die! | GameMakers

Discoverability as a Productivity Problem | SystemTalk

Search defaults and the economics of search advertising revenue sharing | MobileDevMemo


🌈 Platforms 🏠
Gamefam brings Barbie and her Dreamhouse to Roblox | GamesBeat

Fortnite brings in-game age ratings to player-made content | GameDeveloper


🧠 Knowledge Hub 📘
Witch Beam co-founder Sanatana Mishra explains how to interpret feedback from public demos | GameDeveloper

Pistol Shrimp and the importance of owning what you make | GamesIndustry.biz


💲 Fundraising 🤑
Sad Cat raises $5M for retro action-platformer Replaced | GamesBeat

———

Drop a gg!

Look at Gaming #304 | Thursday October 5th 2023


GM! It's Thursday.

Making games is tough. Here's a reminder of that.

Only 1️⃣ out of 3️⃣ games on Steam makes more than $5k.

As per Gamalytics' latest report, there are 71k+ games on Steam and only 15% of these games make more than $50k.

The data is even worse when observing games from 2020 to 2023 — 75% made less than $5k.

Just a sober reminder. Promise to send good news tmrw :)

———

⚡ Spotlight 🤩
Gamalytic: 67% of games on Steam earned less than $5k | GameDev Reports


🌊 MARKET 📞
Epic layoffs, EA's FIFA fallout, and the future of gaming haptics | Unboxing

Global VC deals declined in Q3 for the second quarter in a row, hitting 3-year lows | GamesBeat


💎 Deep Dives 🔎
Deep dive: how Thronefall went 'minimal' to hit 300k sales | GameDiscoverCo

Gamalytic: 67% of games on Steam earned less than $5k | GameDev Reports

The best and highest use of customer attention | MobileDevMemo


🌈 Platforms 🏠
Diablo IV is coming to Steam | The Verge

Krafton launches India game incubator with $150k potential investment for local studios | PGBiz


✨ Web 3⃣ + Meta 🌐
New player-centric Web3 tools prioritize gamers while streamlining development | GamesBeat


🧠 Knowledge Hub 📘
What Resident Evil Village on iOS tells us about the future of AAA mobile game development | GamesIndustry.biz

Harnessing the power of player feedback | GamesIndustry.biz


💲 Fundraising 🤑
Studio Sai secures $7m in seed funding | GamesIndustry.biz


👾 Game & Stats Releases 📊
Warcraft is coming to mobile with Warcraft Rumble | PGBiz

———

Drop a gg!

Look at Gaming #305 | Friday October 6th 2023

GM! Happy Friday!

Pokémon Go creator, Niantic, launched in-game rewarded AR ads for Lunchables. This new ad format was announced earlier this year but this would be its first brand campaign.

Lunchables are kid's meal sets that includes things like crackers, cheese, ham, and a Capri Sun juice. So to stay on brand, these Lunchable AR ads depicts cute-looking objects like a ham boat and a pretzel helicopter.

Niantic says that 80% of their gamers are excited about these types of Ad experiences as their a whole new way to interact with brands but let's see what the data says.

Though these in-game AR ads are new, the idea of using Pokémon Go to drive brand awareness isn't. For example, Starbucks could sponsor Pokestop, gyms, etc in front of their stores to attract gamers.

A few months ago, Roblox released in-game ad billboards on its own platform. Data around these new ad mediums aren't indicative of their effectiveness yet but it definitely is something different.

That's it for this week! Hope everyone has a great weekend :)

———

⚡ Spotlight 🤩
Niantic launches first in-game 'rewarded AR' advertising collaboration in Pokémon Go | PGBiz


🌊 MARKET 📞
What the current wave of layoffs means for the games industry | GamesIndustry.biz


🌈 Platforms 🏠
Epic is changing Unreal Engine’s pricing for non-game developers | The Verge

Niantic launches first in-game 'rewarded AR' advertising collaboration in Pokémon Go | PGBiz


✨ Web 3⃣ + Meta 🌐
Line Next launches Sweet Monster Guardians Web3 game on Game Dosi | GamesBeat


🧠 Knowledge Hub 📘
Monetisation masterclass: How to max out ad performance in mobile RPGs | PGBiz


👾 Game & Stats Releases 📊
Pokémon’s new live-action drama series heaps on the nostalgia in new trailer | The Verge

———

Drop a gg!

Passion fuels success long after the applause fades. Securing funds is a milestone, not the endgame.

WAGME #21 — Paima Studios secures $1.4 million grant, Hytopia opens pre-registration sign-ups, Skyborne releases early access details for Genesis Prologue, and Metalcore gives away game access codes

Drop a gg and show some love! ❤️💞

🔔 Weekly Gaming Digest 👀

In The Loop w/ Kapital_K (Week 4️⃣0️⃣ of 2023)

Here are the top five headlines and fundraising announcements plus a collection of content from independent creators that you missed this week!

———

TOP 5 HEADLINES 📣

📌 Samsung Releasing Streaming Service Next Week

📌 Epic Games To Implement In-Game Age Ratings for Player-Made Content

📌 Niantics Offer In-Game Rewarded AR Ads on Pokémon Go

📌 GamesIndustry.biz Analyzes What The Wave of Layoffs Means

📌 X (Twitter) New Live-Streaming Feature (PS thecoreloop tried it this weekend, see cast here)

———

thecoreloop FEATURED PICKS 💖:

🤕 Threads
• @Akiii345 Japan Web3 Games Twitter List — link

🗣 Blogs
• thecoreloop // Is Web3 Gaming Dead Or Not? — link

➡Pods
• /all Podcast (by Patron.xyz) // Venture Investing in Games — link


💲 Raises
• $12M raised this week across 2 games (Sad Cat $5M) and (Studio SAI $7M). Slow week for fundraising news.

———

Check out our Substack for the full newsletter!

Look at Gaming #306 | Monday October 9th 2023

GM! It's Monday.

The games industry has lost 2% of its participants. 6000+ jobs were eliminated in 2023 YTD. There's been 103 rounds of layoffs with September being the highest with 17 rounds.

Embracer Group did 7 rounds. EA did 6. T2 had 4. Amazon, Microsoft, and Sony all did 3 rounds each. The highest employee layoffs goes to Unity with 900, then Epic at 830.

These waves of layoffs weren't exclusive to the gaming industry. We saw them across all of big tech. But most notable was Elon Musk’s culling of 50% of the staff at Twitter (now X). Musk’s actions set off a trend that is believed to be one of the undercurrents of the wave of layoffs.

Another driver of layoffs is the natural retraction of the games industry. During COVID, many game companies hired quickly to meet the boom in gaming. Fueled by cheap capital, these companies were able to raise more and hire more. Now the tides are turning due to higher interest rates and general malaise in the economy.

Diving a bit deeper, we see the more common reasons for layoffs such as restructuring, which we see in the case of Embracer Group, as well as cyclical ending or termination of work service contracts.

Looking ahead, we have the largest quarter for the games industry. We shall see what sales numbers we get from Q4 to see how game companies recalibrate post-Holiday season.

But this doesn't include esports organizations or web3 gaming companies.

Apologies for starting the week with this headline. We shall remain hopeful as Q4 for is here and this is an October filled with big releases.

Have a wonderful Monday! I will catch you tomorrow.

———

⚡ Spotlight 🤩
Over 6,100 gaming jobs have been cut in 2023 (so far) | GamesBeat


🌊 MARKET 📞
October, 2023’s most crowded month, is here | GamesBeat

How Gran Turismo creator Kazunori Yamauchi views the intersection of racing and games | GamesBeat

Embracer Group dropped from top stocks list by S&P | PGBIz

Microsoft Will Reportedly Finalize Activision Blizzard Deal On Friday, October 13 | GameInformer

Over 6,100 gaming jobs have been cut in 2023 (so far) | GamesBeat

3.5 billion hypercasual games installed in 2023's third quarter | PGBiz

Monster Hunter Now Launch / Luda Raises For AI Sim / CS:GO 2 Launch | Naavik

Weekly Gaming Reports Recap: October 2 - October 6 (2023) | GameDev Reports


💎 Deep Dives 🔎
How the IARC works, what makes Naughty Dog's layoffs different, and the industry's allergy to transparency | GamesIndustry.biz

Platform power, by the numbers | SuperJoost Playlist


🌈 Platforms 🏠
Amazon now lets you buy games on its cloud gaming service — but only Ubisoft ones | The Verge

Valve breaks down what will (and won't) get your game featured on Steam | GameDeveloper

Sony Pictures Core coming to PlayStation | GamesIndustry.biz


🧠 Knowledge Hub 📘
How to Disrupt the Shooter Market | Naavik

CD Projekt RED: Development of Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty cost $63M | GameDev Reports

———

Drop a gg!

Look at Gaming #307 | Tuesday October 10th 2023


GM! It's Tuesday.

Just a short one today. As a follow up on yesterday's headline, here's one about the art of hiring from the talent experts over at a16z Games' operation team.

The article consists of the usual Do's and Dont's of crafting an effective interview process. Advise around having clarity, efficiency, and relevant assessment. The pitfalls to avoid include misunderstanding the role, inappropriate panel interviews, and unstructured interviews.

The more interesting part, though, is about hiring for cultural fit, particularly how to define your culture into something "explicit, actionable framework that unites your team and shapes your hiring process". There should be cross-functional interviews to showcase and maintain a "cohesive cultural fabric".

Enjoy this one guys! See you tomorrow.

———

⚡ Spotlight 🤩
The Art of Hiring: Lessons from a True Talent Expert | Deconstructor of Fun


🌊 MARKET 📞
John Riccitiello retires as Unity CEO after nine years | GamesIndustry.biz

Asian Games Go Digital: Esports' Unforgettable Debut In HangZhou | Niko Partners

Brutally Honest #81 | Matej Lancaric


💎 Deep Dives 🔎
Game Changers Episode 3: Charles Huang, Creator of Guitar Hero | Konvoy Ventures

Game Changers Episode 2: Alexander Seropian, Creator of Bungie (Halo) | Konvoy Ventures

Game Changers Episode 1: Kun Gao, Founder of Crunchyroll | Konvoy Ventures

Why Sony's betting on 'spectacular' GaaS revenues for PlayStation | GameDiscoverCo

Activision Blizzard’s latest games will start arriving on Xbox Game Pass in 2024 if Microsoft deal closes | GameDevReports


🌈 Platforms 🏠
Meta Quest 3 hands-on review — A big bet on mixed reality | GamesBeat

Activision Blizzard’s latest games will start arriving on Xbox Game Pass in 2024 if Microsoft deal closes | The Verge


✨ Web 3⃣ + Meta 🌐
Just One Game on Solana Is Doing More Daily Transactions Than All of Polygon | Decrypt.gg


🧠 Knowledge Hub 📘
The Art of Hiring: Lessons from a True Talent Expert | Deconstructor of Fun


👾 Game & Stats Releases 📊
You Can Play 'Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III' Now—Here's How | Decrypt.gg

EA Sports FC 24 nets 11 million players in opening week | GameDeveloper

———

Drop a gg!

Look at Gaming #308 | Wednesday October 11th 2023

GM! It's Wednesday.

One of the largest and most popular mobile game just tried to avoid Apple's 30% fee, not once but twice in a month.

miHoYo creator of Genshin Impact, Honkai Stair Rails, etc. was directing players to their website to purchase 10%-discounted items. The game studio didn't publicly advertise this new method but rather the game's forums (also a mobile app) were directing players to web store.

Apple discovered this and removed the forum app from the App Store (lol).

The following week, miHoYo revealed another payment method within Alipay. Apple, once again, stopped this by disabling the feature.

Although the game studio may not attempt a third time, it's clear that it is discontent with Apple's fees. This is both unsurprising and surprising. Obviously, no one wants to pay Apple's 30% fee rake. But miHoYo has a close relationship with Apple — winning awards and being physically visited by Apple's CEO.

We also know that Epic Games recently filed an appeal on their legal case against Apple for the same situation. There are also numerous other attempts such as Pokemon Go Webstore and the new Monster Hunter Now Web Store. These are big names making big splashes so let's see how things shake out.

In other news, Disney may buy Electronic Arts (EA), Supercell porting Clash Royale and Clash of Clan to PC, and BAPE partnering with Tamagotchi (yes the digital pets).

See you guys tomorrow!

———

⚡ Spotlight 🤩
Too big for your rules? miHoYo tried to dodge Apple App Store fees twice in one month | PGBiz


🌊 MARKET 📞
Report: Disney execs keen to acquire a publisher like EA | GameDeveloper

Children spend $39 on in-game content monthly | GamesIndustry.biz

RPGs account for 60% of Korea’s mobile game sales | PGBiz


💎 Deep Dives 🔎
#230: Blood sacrifice | Hit Points


🌈 Platforms 🏠
Sony Announces New Slim PlayStation 5 Models With Removable Disc Drives | GameInformer

Supercell to bring Clash of Clans and Clash Royale to PC for the first time | PGBiz

Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare III, Diablo IV Won't Come To Xbox Game Pass This Year | GameInformer

Too big for your rules? miHoYo tried to dodge Apple App Store fees twice in one month | PGBiz


✨ Web 3⃣ + Meta 🌐
Amazon and Immutable Want to Make it Easier to Launch Crypto Games | Decrypt.gg


💲 Fundraising 🤑
Fast Travel Games secures $4m in new investment round | GamesIndustry.biz


👾 Game & Stats Releases 📊
BAPE Bets on Virtual Pet Nostalgia With Tamagotchi Streetwear Collab | Decrypt.co

Cyberpunk 2077' Goes Hollywood as Game Sells 25 Million Copies | Decrypt.gg

———

Drop a gg!

Look at Gaming #309 | Thursday October 12th 2023

GM! It's Thursday.

Lots of headlines today! Zynga is activating a Halloween campaign across 17 games(!!). It's a pretty good lineup. The top games in the merge genre are Empires & Puzzles: Match-3 RPG and Merge Dragons and the top casino titles are Zynga Poker and Wizard of Oz Slots Games. There's even a sports sims game called Top Eleven Soccer Manager.

In 2023 YTD, these 17 games had 83M downloads and generated $635M. Normally, I don't care for these campaigns but with the recent launch of Sugartown, which only has 933 NFT owners, I think it would be insightful to showcase Zynga's level of reach in its web2 portfolio.

Assuming a 10% retention rate, there'd still be 8M players and if just 2% of these players decide to try Sugartown, that's 166k new players. Tbh, this is terrible math but it's good enough for some back-of-the-envelope analysis.

In other news, we saw Valve pulling support for Counter-Strike 2, noting that less than 1% of users play on Mac. Xsolla bought 3 content creation and distribution companies so now they could integrate their payment processing into the creator's tech stack. Fortnite is also pushing gamers towards creator maps. EA scored more goals with FC 2024 than FIFA 2023, 20% more sales. And AppLovin swooping in to buying Unity?

BIG news day! Catch you guys tomorrow.

———

⚡ Spotlight 🤩
Zynga kickstarts Halloween early with in-game events across 17 titles | PGBiz


🌊 MARKET 📞
Microsoft adjusts Activision Blizzard deal to prevent EU probe | GameDeveloper

Data drop: Honkai Star Rail earns $500m, IAP and ad breakdowns, word game analysis, top hypercasual games and more | Mobilegamer.biz

AppLovin may make a second attempt at buying Unity, rumours suggest | PGBiz

British Esports responds to backlash over Saudi esports partnership | GamesIndustry.biz


💎 Deep Dives 🔎
How to train your CFO (about probabilistic measurement) | MobileDevMemo


🌈 Platforms 🏠
PlayStation 5 Cloud Streaming Arrives This Month For Premium Users | GameInformer

Xsolla acquires 3 content creation and distribution companies | GamesBeat

Fortnite is pushing creator-made maps with a YouTube-like redesign | The Verge

Zynga kickstarts Halloween early with in-game events across 17 titles | PGBiz

Steam devs will need SMS verification to release game builds | GameDeveloper


✨ Web 3⃣ + Meta 🌐
Zynga Enters Web3 with Sugartown | Naavik


🧠 Knowledge Hub 📘
What it's like making games in Unreal Engine for Fortnite as an indie dev | GameDeveloper

How to be a great leader at a games company – without going bananas | GamesIndustry.biz

Behind the scenes: The making of Netmarble’s Grand Cross: Age of Titans | PGBiz


💲 Fundraising 🤑
Space Rock Games secures $900,000 in funding | GamesIndustry.biz


👾 Game & Stats Releases 📊
Valve kills Counter-Strike 2 support for Mac, older hardware | GameDeveloper

———

Drop a gg!

Look at Gaming #310 | Friday October 13th 2023

GM! Happy Friday!

Mobile game ads are a $90 billion market and it's only getting bigger because a larger variety of exogenous brands will enter this market. But the largest market demographic is not who you think it is.

Monetizr surveyed 200k+ North American mobile game players. The results reveal that gamers age 43+ is a larger group than Millennials and GenZ COMBINED.

This shift challenges conventional assumptions. The demographic of mobile gamers in North America is changing and that presents opportunities for exogenous brands to reach these audiences in a novel way.

I've mentioned several times in this newsletter about brands like Gucci or Nike activating campaigns on Roblox. That's an example of exogenous brands (ie non-gaming brands) interacting with their target customer in a new medium. We're now seeing an expansion of to the other side of the spectrum.

In other news, Steam Deck launched its new app store, Crypto Gaming still attracted $600M in the bear market, Rocket League receives major backlash when they banned P2P item trading, and Netflix games hit 80M installs.

Have a wonderful weekend y'all!

———

⚡ Spotlight 🤩
• Gamers over 43 outnumber Gen Z on mobile per survey of 200K+ | GamesBeat

🌊 MARKET 📞
• Gamers over 43 outnumber Gen Z on mobile per survey of 200K+ | GamesBeat
• Gamers seek relaxation, favor mobile devices and watch game streams | GamesBeat

💎 Deep Dives 🔎
• Shareholder fall guy | SuperJoost Playlist
• As Netflix game downloads hit 80m, here’s a look at its top performers to date | MobileGamer.biz
• The 'We Were Here' franchise gave away 7 million copies of its latest game. Why? | GameDiscoverCo

🌈 Platforms 🏠
• The Stream Deck’s new paid app store is here | The Verge

✨ Web 3⃣ + Meta 🌐
• NBA's LaMelo and Lonzo Ball—And Their Dad—Star in NFT Game 'StrayShot' | Decrypt.gg
• Crypto Gaming Attracted $600M Worth of Q3 Investment Despite Bear Market | Decrypt.gg
• Rocket League Players Revolt Over Item Trading Ban—Do NFTs Fix This? | Decrypt.gg

🧠 Knowledge Hub 📘
• Developing a video game in Unity: an easy, step-by-step guide | GameDeveloper
• Gaming is mastering automation in player support | GamesBeat
• Driving ROI with Data Analysis – Part 2 | Naavik

👾 Game & Stats Releases 📊
• EA announces turn-based football game for mobile, EA Sports FC Tactical | PGBiz

———

Drop a gg!

In the realm of dreams and innovation, a setback is but a pause, not an end. For every closed door, countless horizons of possibility still beckon.

WAGME #22 — Big Time launches pre-season and distributes token airdrop, Moonfrost releases its 1st Closed Alpha Playtest, Parallel gets listed on Steam, and Mystery Society releases application form

Drop a gg and show some love! ❤️💞

Look at Gaming #311 | Monday October 16th 2023

GM! It's Monday.

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend but you know who had the best weekend of all? The good folks over at Redmond, Washington as the MSFT-ATVI deal was finally approved.

This deal took nearly two years to complete but it's finally completed. Here are the TL;DRs:
• $69B purchase of Activision Blizzard
• 633 days after Microsoft's bid announcement
• CMA approval came from Ubisoft taking control of cloud gaming rights for Activision Blizzard for the next 15 years (in perpetuity)
• Ubisoft PLus will (soon) carry Activision Blizzard games
• Microsfot signed deals with Nintendo and Sony for CoD and committed to keeping CoD on Steam
• Microsoft has 23 in-house studios
• Activision has 3 gaming divisions (ABK) and 13k employees
• Bobby Kotick (CEO of Activision Blizzard) to step down at the end of 2023
• Microsoft now owns IPs like Call of Duty, Crash Bandicoot, Diablo, Guitar Hero, Hearthstone, Overwatch, Starcraft, Warcraft, Candy Crush Saga, and much much more.

That's it for today! Also, I'm testing a new format with the headlines below. Let me know if you guys like the reduced spacing and the bullet points or if I should revert to the old ways with the spacings.

———

⚡ Spotlight 🤩
• Microsoft finally closes deal to buy Activision Blizzard | Axios

🌊 MARKET 📞
• ESL FACEIT Group: Growing Beyond Play | Naavik
Microsoft finally closes deal to buy Activision Blizzard | Axios
• 2023 has been a brutal year for game developers | Axios
• Ubisoft and Activision Blizzard’s deal for cloud gaming rights, explained | The Verge
• Bobby Kotick out at Activision Blizzard | PGBiz
• Every Activision Blizzard Game Franchise Xbox Now Owns | GameInformer

💎 Deep Dives 🔎
• India’s Real Money Gaming Tax | Konvoy Ventures

✨ Web 3⃣ + Meta 🌐
• Sega Exec Says Blockchain Gaming an 'Unknown World' Worth Exploring | Decrypt.gg

🧠 Knowledge Hub 📘
• How AI and other tech are accelerating game development | GamesBeat

👾 Game & Stats Releases 📊
• Minecraft has sold over 300 million copies | The Verge

———

Drop a gg!

Look at Gaming #312 | Tuesday October 17th 2023

GM! It's Tuesday.

So I've been using Geforce Now to play Maplestory Global on my mac while being in Korea. This doesn't sound complicated but it was.

Maplestory only runs on PC and if you're in Korea, you have to play Korea Maplestory. I had to overcome the platform mismatch and the geo-block.

I needed Parallels to download Maplestory so that my Steam account would be linked to Maplestory, then I had to use Geforce Now to launch Steam, which then launched Maplestory. All the while I had to keep VPN on. (Oh and every account needs to be created under US-region).

After this experience, I'm a firm believer in cloud gaming. Yes, one could argue that I should just get a PC (and I am). But the larger point is that any gamer should be able to play on any device. The device should fit to the form of the user, not the other way around.

And we see just that with Netflix testing its cloud gaming service in the US. Recall that a few months ago they had launched a gaming controller app on the app store. Now Netflix subscribers could play games on smart TVs and TV-connected devices.

Though Netflix mentioned that this isn't a console-replacement (well since it really couldn't be) but rather a "value-add" to its existing subscribers. But this is an interesting point.

I had to subscribe to GeForce Now. If I had the choice to not pay another subscription and rather just get charged a little more on my Netflix subscription for cloud gaming services, I'd be much more inclined to do so.

Netflix's bundling of its cloud services is something we should pay attention to. No other tech giant has as large a consumer-subscriber base as Netflix does. We've seen the power of bundling before (see Microsoft).

There was another tech giant that rolled out cloud gaming a few months ago. Samsung launched cloud gaming natively on its phones but the distinction is that it would run mobile games. Today's benefit is that it drastically shrinks the funnel and reduces friction. Tomorrow's benefit is that as mobile games become more computationally intensive fewer devices could run the games at full graphics.

And with 78% of gamers play on mobile, with 44% considering mobile as their primary device for gaming, this market is quite large, and growing.


Apologies for a long one today. Felt like being long-winded. Thanks for bearing through that. Catch y'all tomorrow!

———


⚡ Spotlight 🤩
• Netflix’s cloud gaming service begins tests in US | TechCrunch

🌊 MARKET 📞
• 78% of gamers play on mobile, with 44% considering it their primary device | PGBiz

• Almost half of all gamers find their spouse through gaming | PGBiz


💎 Deep Dives 🔎
• So, Microsoft now owns Activision Blizzard. How will this affect the rest of the industry? | GamesIndustry.biz

• Who's top of Steam Next Fest for October 2023? | GameDiscoverCo

• Market Situation in China | Brutally Honest

• The Zen Match Case: How a First Mover Fell Behind | Deconstructor of Fun

• The profitability of Sony's gaming business does not reach 15% | GameDev Reports


🌈 Platforms 🏠
• Epic is offering a big incentive for developers to bring older games to its store | The Verge

• Playable Grand Theft Auto on Netflix? Just 'Rumors,' Says Streaming Giant | Decrypt.gg

• Netflix’s cloud gaming service begins tests in US | TechCrunch


💲 Fundraising 🤑
• Zeedz.io raises $1M and launches climate change game on mobile devices | GamesBeat


👾 Game & Stats Releases 📊
• There's a Film Festival Happening in Minecraft Right Now | Decrypt.co

• The next League of Legends music group is a virtual boy band | The Verge

• Monopoly Go developer Scopely estimated to surpass $7bn in lifetime user spend | PGBiz

Look at Gaming #313 | Wednesday October 18th 2023

GM! It's Wednesday.

I'm bullish on the S.E.A. Region. Niko Partners' latest report, "The SEA-6 Games Market", includes Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. There are 288M gamers in this region.

These markets total a $5.8B (~3% of the global games market) and projected to grow at 5.4% CAGR — reaching $7.2B by 2027. Indonesia dominates as the largest market in terms of revenue, players, and growth rate.

2/3 of the region's revenue comes from mobile and expected to climb to 70% in 2027. Indonesia and Singapore has the fastest revenue growth rate of 9.9% and 8.2%, respectively.

Surprisingly though esports is a key driver for gaming in this region, with teams in Thailand and Malaysia earning the most esports medals. The SEA-6 esports market is about 3% of the global market's.

Not mentioned in the article but I think is important is the customer acquisition cost for SEA players. The unit economics for these players are improving which makes them more attractive in the uber competitive mobile gaming landscape.

In other news, we saw GamesIndustry.biz's best place to work in the US, a dive into the hybridcasual revolution, and details on PS5 cloud streaming.

Catch y'all tomorrow!

———
⚡ Spotlight 🤩
• SEA-6 Games Market Reports | Niko Partners


🌊 MARKET 📞
• Revealed: The 2023 GamesIndustry.biz Best Places To Work Awards US winners | GamesIndustry.biz

• SEA-6 Games Market Reports | Niko Partners

• A casual revolution: Why even console devs want in on hybridcasual | PGBiz

• 94% of Gen Alpha are game enthusiasts, but gaming has universal appeal | PGBiz

• Monopoly Go, casual and IP drive Data.ai Q3 mobile games report | GamesBeat

• Ipsos & Video Games Europe: How children spend money in Games | GameDev Reports


🌈 Platforms 🏠
• Xbox chief says Activision Blizzard games aren’t coming to Xbox Game Pass until 2024 | The Verge

• Here are the details on PS5 cloud streaming | The Verge

• Activision made a secret deal for gun product placement in Call of Duty | GamesIndustry.biz

• Indie publishing is “in a really weird place” on mobile – so is TikTok the answer? | Mobilegamer.biz


✨ Web 3⃣ + Meta 🌐
• FTX Promised $100M to Maker of SBF's Favorite Game 'League of Legends' | Decrypt.gg


🧠 Knowledge Hub 📘
• How Super Mario Bros. Wonder transformed Mario's 2D capabilities | GameDeveloper

• Deep Dive: Designing a narrative for multiple middles and multiple heroes in Saltsea Chronicles | GameDeveloper


💲 Fundraising 🤑
• Bitcoin Metaverse Token Pre-Sale From ‘Life Beyond’ Team Raises $3.5M | Decrypt.gg

———

Drop a gg!

Look at Gaming #314| Thursday October 19th 2023

GM! It's Thursday.

Show me the incentives and I'll show you the outcome. Fortnite is changing its creator payout economics. This policy update will incentivize creators to stimulate players to spend.

The current policy pays creators based on:
(1) Player popularity
(2) Player retention
(3) Rewards time played

The new incentives will reward creators when players buys or spends V-Bucks one week before and one week after they've engaged with the creator's experience. For example, if a player bought the new Spiderman game on Epic Games Store, then played an Spider man-themed Fortnite experience then the creator of that Fortnite experience would get some attribution to that sale.

Many platforms are heading this UGC / Creator Economy 2.0 route so we should pay attention to how the current dominating UGC platforms enact their economic policies. Earlier this year we saw Roblox having their own methodology for sales attribution and incentivization.

Another interesting data point Tim Sweeney (CEO of Epic Games) mentioned was that third-party Fornite experiences play time exceeds first-party experiences. That's what a healthy UGC platform looks like.

In other news, we have an AI that was trained for 50,000 hours to play Pokemon Red and the release of Super Mario Bros. Wonder's game trailer. There were also a few headlines about alternative app stores such as Epic games releasing on Oppo (SEA app store) and Krafton investing in One Store (South Korea's app store).

If anyone has experience working with these alternative app stores, please reach out! I'm keen to learn more about those market dynamics. As Apple & Google are forced to loosen their grip on the mobile app stores, attention will start shifting to the alternative app stores.

That's it for today! Drop a gg in the comments. I wanna hear from you :). Have a wonderful rest of your week.

(There's been some interest in working with thecoreloop about collabs, sponsorships, etc., so please shoot me a dm @kapital_k)

———

⚡ Spotlight 🤩
• Fortnite creators will get paid for encouraging players to spend | The Verge


🌊 MARKET 📞
• After 50,000 hours, this AI can play Pokémon Red | TechCrunch

• Nostra goes global with mobile game discovery platform on smartphone lockscreens | GamesBeat


💎 Deep Dives 🔎
• Steam Deck: everything you were afraid to ask! | GameDiscoverCo

• Building the creator economy, part 1: Roblox | Unboxing

• Can Disney be a gaming company again? | MobileDevMemo


🌈 Platforms 🏠
• Xbox boss Phil Spencer is "all in" on revisiting dormant Activision Blizzard franchises | GameDeveloper

• Fortnite comes to the Oppo App Market alternative app store in Southeast Asia | PGBIz

• Fortnite creators will get paid for encouraging players to spend | The Verge


✨ Web 3⃣ + Meta 🌐
• What to Expect From the AI World Fair in Decentraland | Decrypt.gg

• South Korea to mandate 'probability displays' and investigate blockchain games on Apple and Google stores | PGBiz


💲 Fundraising 🤑
• Forge raises $11M to unlock rewards for gamers | GamesBeat

• PUBG maker Krafton invests $14.8 million in alternate app store One Store | PGBiz


👾 Game & Stats Releases 📊
• Here we go: all the news about Super Mario Bros. Wonder | The Verge

• Exploring Warcraft Rumble’s road to release | GamesBeat

• Virtuix opens preorders for Omni One VR treadmill | GamesBeat

• AppMagic: Users have spent over $7B in Scopely games | GameDev Reports

———

Drop a gg!